Ninth Member of Detroit’s ‘Hustle Boys’ Gang Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking

In December of 2011, ten members of a violent Detroit gang known as the ‘Hustle Boys’ were indicted by a grand jury, eight of them arrested. The gang had been under investigation by federal agents and other police agencies for a lengthy time period, according to news reports which state the gang had been into drug trafficking. Marijuana and Oxycontin were some of the illegal substances said to have been sold and distributed by the gang members.

On Wednesday, November 14, a ninth member pleaded guilty. 21-year-old Jeron Gaskin of Detroit was convicted in federal court on three counts of drug trafficking. Allegedly, the Hustle Boys gang was sometimes trading drugs for guns; some of the drugs they would exchange for firearms included pain pills such as Opana and Oxycontin. They were also accused of running prescription drugs across state lines into Ohio and West Virginia, where they would sell the narcotics in fast food restaurant parking lots.

Investigators claim the gang operated the drug trafficking business in homes and hotel rooms in all three states. The gang also allegedly stored firearms and cash in an east side Detroit home located on Hamburg Street, where they counted and packaged the prescription pills.

Only the 10th suspect, William Beal, still faces trial on the drug charges. According to the FBI, the remaining eight co-defendants all pleaded guilty to the charges earlier. They include Darrell Ewing, Ashley Sallad, Mark Davis, Deonte Morris, Delmerey Morris, Pinkie Lewis, Randi Fortner and William Crews.

Detroit drug trafficking attorneys know that individuals who are convicted on these serious criminal charges often face life-changing consequences. Depending upon the type and amount of drug involved, penalties range from a few years in prison and substantial fines to life imprisonment and fines of up to a million dollars.

If you or someone you know has been arrested for drug distribution or any drug-related offense, contact an experienced Michigan criminal defense lawyer at once for legal guidance and effective, aggressive representation.